Dual precision under reamer

ABSTRACT

A under reamer that has two arms and is piston activated. The under reamer arms are supported on both side walls by a pin assembly. The under reamer arms are extended outward by a piston assembly which is spring biased to retract the arms. A surface of the under reamer arms adjacent the pivot point is protected via a holder assembly with a surface that matches the surface of the arms adjacent the pivot assembly.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to drilling devices used in, for example, the oil industry and, in particular, concerns an under reamer tool used to widen the diameters of bore holes.

Description of the Related Art

Drilling is commonly performed in industries such as the oil industry where holes are drilled into the ground to receive pipe. Similar holes are also drilled to receive pipe in water applications such as wells and the like.

One tool that is commonly used is a tool known as an under reamer which extends down through a pipe and then has expandable arms so as to drill a bore hole that is wider than the diameter of the pipe. The arms are preferably expandable through the use of a hydraulic piston that causes the arms to extend outward from the central shaft of the tool.

Typical under reamers used today have three arms spaced at equal intervals about the outer diameter of a vertical portion of the tool. The three arms are prone to breakage and also prone to vibratory movement as a result of smaller size and due to the design of the tool itself.

Consequently, there is a need for an under reamer that is more robust in design and less prone to vibration than existing under reamers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the under reamer of the present invention which, in one non-limiting example or embodiment comprises an under reamer having a central shaft with two arms that are pivotable outward from the central shaft located at opposite sides of the central shaft. The arms are preferably pivotally mounted to the central shaft with a retaining pin formed on either side of the arms. The arms, in one non-limiting example have two lots that engage with the pivot pins.

In another non-limiting example, the holder block engages with the upper end of the arms and a pivot pin extends through the arms and the central shaft to permit pivoting of the arms. In this example, the retaining pins are also located through the shaft to engage either side of the arms. The use of dual retaining pins reduces vibration and prolongs the life of the tool. Moreover, the use of two arms also prolongs the life of the tool as the arms can be formed to be larger size and therefore more robust.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C are isometric views of one exemplary embodiment of a dual precision under reamer of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are isometric views of the arms of the under reams of FIGS. 1A-1C;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are holder blocks of the dual precision under reamer of FIGS. 1A-1C;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are retaining pins of the dual precision under reamer of FIGS. 1A-1C;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view of the under reamer of 1A-1C that schematically shows the operating mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a view of a cam member of the under reamer of FIGS. 1A-1C; and

FIG. 7 is a front view of the under reamer of FIGS. 1A-1C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary dual precision under reamer 100 of one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the under reamer 100 includes a central shaft 102 that can be 44 inches long but this size may vary depending upon the application. A plurality of arms 104 a, 104 b which, in this case comprises two arms, extend pivotally outward from the central shaft 102. The arms 104 a, 104 b are hydraulically activated so that a desired diameter of the bore hole can be selected. The end of the shaft 102 may also include a known digging implement.

Digging implements 106 are formed on outer portion of the arm to facilitate digging of the bore hole. The arms 104 a, 104 b are retractable into openings 108 so that the under reamer 100 can be inserted through a pipe to the digging depth. The openings 108 may include cut outs 110 that are sized to receive the digging implements 106.

The arms 104 a, 104 b are shown in greater detail in FIG. 2A and 2B. In this implementation, the arms 104 a, 104 b have a pivot hole 112 on one end so as to be pivotally attached to the central shaft 102 in a manner that will be described in greater detail below. The arms 104 also have an outward digging surface 114. As is also shown either of the side surfaces 116 of the arms include an arcuate groove 120 that receives a retaining pin in a manner that will be described in greater detail below.

The arms 104 are secured in place via a pivot pin that extends through the pivot hole 112 and the central shaft 102. Further, a holder block 130 is secured to the central shaft 102 and the holder block 130 defines an arcuate surface 132 that engages with a mating surface 134 on the arms 104 to reinforce the interaction between the arms 104 and the central shaft.

A retaining pin component 140 is also attached to the central shaft via a mounting body 142 that is offset from a pin body 144. The retaining pin body 144 is positioned within the arcuate grooves 120 on either side of the arms 104 so as to reduce vibration of the arms when the assembly 100 is rotated during digging operations.

The relative positioning and functionality of these components are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5A and 5B. As shown, the shaft 102 defines an inner bore opening 150 that extends the length of the shaft 150. The outer walls 152 of the shaft are relatively thick, e.g., on the order of approximately 3.75″ or 3.735″ inches thick in one non-limiting embodiment adjacent where the arms 104 a, 104 b are pivotally attached to the main shaft 10. The openings 108 in the shaft that accommodate the arms 104 have exemplary dimensions of approximately 2.265 inches wide, approximately 16.750 inches long inches long and are spaced approximately 180 degrees about the outer circumference of the shaft 102. As shown, the pivot openings 112 in the shaft that receive pivot pins and extend through pivot openings 113 in the arms 104 are positioned at an upper end of the openings 108.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the arms 104 a, 104 b define an opening 160 that has a deeper flat portion 162 and an angled portion 164 that extends towards the outer end of the arms 104 a, 104 b that accommodates the digging implements 106. In one implementation, the arms 104 a, 104 b are approximately 10.25 inches in length, approximately 2.25 inches in width, and approximately 2.75 inches in depth. The flat portion 162 of the opening 160 is approximately 1 inch deep and approximately 0.094 inches wide and the angled portion 162 extends at an approximately 25 degree angle with respect to the outer surface of the arms 104 a, 104 b.

The assembly 100 further includes a cam member 170 that is mounted inside the opening 150 in the shaft 102. The cam member 170 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 6. The cam member 170 has an opening 172 that engages with a piston, in a manner that will be described in greater detail below, and two bearing arms 174 a, 174 b that are positioned within the openings 108 of the digging arms 104 in the manner shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The cam member 170 also includes two positioning arms 176 a, 176 b that engage with the inner walls of the inner opening 150 of the shaft 102 to stabilize the cam member 170.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the cam member 170 is coupled to the shaft 182 of a piston 180 that is positioned within the opening 150 of the central shaft 102. As the piston 180 is actuated, the cam member 170 is urged forward where the cam member bearing arms 172 a, 174 b engage with the angled portions 164 of the arms 108 which thereby urge the arms outward in the manner shown in FIG. 5B. As such, the degree of deployment of the arms 108 a, 108 b away from the central shaft 102 is controllable by the extension of the shaft 182 of the piston 180.

As shown in FIG. 5A and 5B, the shaft 102 has a reduced diameter portion 194 which defines an opening to receive the holder block 130 via bolts 192. The arcuate surface 132 of the holder block 130 engages with the arcuate surface 134 of the arms 108 a, 108 b in the manner shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The reduced diameter portion 194 also defines an opening 190 through which the shaft 182 of the piston 180 extends. The reduced diameter portion 194 also defines a flange 196 that is used to spring bias the piston shaft 182.

The piston shaft 182 includes a fastener 200 that extends through the piston shaft 182 and is connected to the cam 170. The piston shaft 102 includes a thicker portion 202 that overlaps the flange 196 but is not as wide as the opening 150 of the shaft 182 so as to define gaps 204. The thicker portion 202 of the piston shaft 182 includes a flange 206 that extends into the gaps 204 such that a spring 210 can be interposed between the flange 196 of the shaft 182 and the flange 206 of the thicker portion of the piston shaft 182. The spring 210 biases the cam 170 into the position of FIG. 5A whereby removal of force from the piston on the shaft 180 results in the spring retracting the shaft 182 thereby returning the cam 170 to the deeper portion 162 of the arm 108 a, 108 b thereby retracting the arms 108 a, 108 b into the position of FIG. 5A. The piston 180 can be similar to existing pistons of the prior art.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the under reamer 100 which shows the relative positioning of the arms 104 a, 104 b. As shown, the arms 104 a, 104 b are spaced so as to be 180 degrees apart from each other around the circumference of the shaft 102. The use of two arms 104 a, 104 b permits this relative spacing. Further, the use of two arms 104 a, 104 b as opposed to the typical three in prior art devices permits the use of heavier arms 104 a, 104 b which lessens the chance the device can become disabled as a result of the arms breaking. Still further, the use of two arms results in greater side wall material that is supporting the arms and inhibiting twisting of the arms during digging operations. In one exemplary implementation, the shaft 102 is approximately 6″ in diameter and has walls having a thickness of approximately 2 to 3.75″ with the arms 104 a, 104 b being positioned approximately 180 degrees apart from each other about the circumference of the shaft 102.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that various changes to the form, implementation and uses of the described embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the sprit, teachings or scope of the instant application. Hence, the scope of the instant application should not be limited to the foregoing but should be defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An under reamer device comprising: a central shaft with a central opening having wall openings that are spaced 180 degrees apart about the circumference of the shaft; a pair of arms pivotally mounted to the central shaft so as to pivot into and out of the wall openings in the shaft; a pair of digging implements that are mounted on the ends of the pair of pivoting arms.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the pair of arms consist of two arms.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the arms each include a pivot opening formed adjacent a first end of the arms and wherein a pivot pin extends through the pivot opening and wherein the end of the arms adjacent the pivot pin are rounded.
 4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a holder assembly that is mounted to a portion of the shaft so as to be flush with the outer wall of the shaft and wherein the holder assembly includes a rounded surface that mates with the rounded surface of the arms so as to permit rotational movement of the arms with respect to the shaft.
 5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a piston assembly that engages with the arms so as to cause the arms to pivot outward and retract inward.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the piston assembly includes a shaft and a cam and wherein the cam is movable along the central shaft and engages with the arms such that movement of the shaft extends and retracts the arms from the central shaft.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the arms include opening and the cam includes protrusions that extend into the openings of the arms and wherein the openings in the arms are angled such that movement of the cam as a result of movement of the piston shaft induces the arms to extend outward from the outer surface of the central shaft.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the shaft of the piston is spring biased such that removal of the force inducing the piston shaft to extend causes the spring to retract the cam and retract the arms.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the arms have two side surfaces and wherein the side surfaces include an opening that defines an arcuate path.
 10. The device of claim 9, further comprising a retaining pin assembly that is coupled to the central shaft wherein each retaining pin assembly a retaining pin that engages with the arcuate path in the side surfaces of the arm such that both sides of the arm are stabilized by the retaining pin. 